Dr. Stephen Stotland

I am a psychologist who has specialized in the area of obesity and related problems for more than 25 years.

​I am affiliated with both McGill (Assistant Professor-Professional, Department of Psychology) and the University of Montreal (Professeur Accredite, Department of Nutrition).

The problem of obesity involves complicated interactions between physical and behavioural processes, which makes it such an interesting and challenging field of study and practice.

​I've always been interested in the concept of “mental health” as it relates to the bigger concept of “health.” I was trained as a clinical psychologist to identify and treat mental/emotional disorders, but my personal preference was (1) to look at both negative and positive health outcomes, so not only pathology, but what we might call a high level of “mental fitness,” and (2) to consider the relation between psychological and physical health or ill-health.

For example, if an individual is “depressed,” that’s not only a mood state, but a behavioural and cognitive one, and there are important implications for physical health as well. Likewise, “happiness” has behavioral, cognitive, emotional and physical correlates. Similarly, “diabetes” is not only a physical condition, but has an important psychological dimension too.

Today I continue my work to outline a comprehensive model of behaviour change, with applications to obesity treatment and to a wide range of behavioural problems experienced by adolescents and adults.